Friday, June 9, 2017

The Guild 45th and the Seven Gables

Local media started reporting Tuesday that two Seattle theaters,
the Guild 45th and the Seven Gables, had closed “abruptly” that day,
ostensibly for renovation, but it doesn’t bode well. Part of the Landmark
chain, these theaters haven’t been independent neighborhood film houses in a
long time, but people who don’t like 12-plex mega theaters in shopping malls
were happy to have old-fashioned alternatives.

As soon as I heard the news, I dashed out to the Guild 45th
in the Wallingford neighborhood. Someone had taped a handwritten sign on the
wall saying, “What next?” alluding to the lack of information about what’s
going to happen to the venerable institution. As I sketched the pink art deco
building with curved walls, a woman walked up to the windows to peer inside,
and she snapped a photo of a sign saying the theater was closed.

6/7/17 inks, water-soluble colored pencils (Guild 45th Theatre)

The next day I stopped in the University District to
sketch the Seven Gables. At the corner of Northeast 50th and
Roosevelt Way Northeast, this old building is surrounded by tall trees. (That
was fortunate for me, because it meant I didn’t have to draw more than three of
those gables.) A red “open” sign was lighted in a window, but that was for the
Ristorante Doria that occupies the street-level floor of the building.

Technical note: After using most of its contents in
Italy, I refilled a waterbrush with gray ink – my favorite way to make “cheater”
shadows. Wanting to get it a little darker than before, I added a bit of black,
but it turned out to be way, way darker than I intended. I regretted it as soon
as I applied it to the sketch of the Guild 45th. For the Seven
Gables’ shadows, I switched to a Tombow marker.